Bloomberg Businessweek published two excerpts (here and here) from Rhacel Salazar Parrenas’s new book, Illicit Flirtations: Labor, Migration, and Sex Trafficking in Tokyo, for which the author spent nine months working as a “hostess” in a Tokyo bar.

[…] Flirtations: Labor, Migration and Sex Trafficking in Tokyo by Rhacel Salazar Parreñas, (hat-tip to Tits and Sass for introducing me to it) which seems to cover some of the topics I touched on, namely the effect […]

Blackberries. Seriously. Yeah, they’re not the hot sexy phone, what they are is the most secure phone you’re not going to drop over $1000, need 2 lines, and probably won’t be able to find anyone to actually sell you one…

In the configuration, you can set the number of attempts at the password before it scrubs the phone’s memory. It’s an actual scrub too. Not NSA level data scrubbing, but still good enough to destroy all but the most determined and advanced data recovery programs. I seem to remember that the data is stored in an encrypted format on them as well, but I’d have to look it up first, so don’t go on that, but do bear in mind that BBs are cleared for containing classified information — for whatever that’s worth. If my memory is correct and it is stored in an encrypted format, I cannot imagine a way that device can crack it. Even if they know the functions involved, unless possibly the function is seeded with something like the IMEI/EIN/PIN number of the device…Hrm. This is highly interesting. I’ll look more deeply into this.

Just something on the side, for keeping electronic records, if you’ve not heard of/use TrueCrypt, fix that immediately. Google’ll set you right in where to get it from and how to use it, but with a strong password and the use of keyfiles (preferably keyfiles kept in removable media that is highly inconspicuous) no one is getting into that encrypted volume without you telling them how to or devoting a few years on a few super computers to it as well.
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Suppose I have a massive collection of pictures of my awe-inspiring +5 penis of might and amazement (name’s Zeke). Well, I might not want these to get leaked to the world as seeing such images may cause the entire male portion of our race to commit mass suicide from the futility of knowing that such a member exists and there is no hope to compete with it. In my infinite grace, I’ve got to take care to protect men from such an ignoble doom. To achieve this end, I can take TrueCrypt and make two encrypted volumes with it.
The first one, I’ll name something like “personal info” or “financial info”, and I’ll keep in that volume absolutely nothing but personal info like an excel document with my SSN, driver’s license number, bank account numbers, credit card numbers — stuff that any sane person would want to keep protected from possible thieves. I’ll keep it in my documents folder.
The second one, I’m going to be sneaky with. I’m going to name it something like ztpoj.dll (zeke the mighty penis of justice — needs to be something easy to remember). I’ll then put this file in one of my random program folders that has other .dll files in it (again, some place I make a point of remembering, but NEVER writing down or recording). This is the folder I put all of the images I must keep from the world in (12 megapixels can’t even contain it all). Now unless someone knows exactly what dll files come with that program, if I don’t have it opened with TC, it’ll look like any random dll file (it might be better to use an extension like .dat for larger files, but the process is basically the same, and avoid the main windows folders, use some program you’ve installed b/c windows dlls are decently well known by techs), and for someone looking through my computer it would take one hell of a snoop to even think to check such out.

Here’s why you made two encrypted volumes, hid one and left the other one in the open. Suppose that for some reason an officer of the law decides he needs to know what’s on my computer. Even has all of the proper warrants and such. Well, they see that truecrypt program and want to know what I’ve got hidden with it. Alrighty, sure thing boss. No problemo. Then I just open the personal info one, allow them to look at my financial information and stuff like social security number and credit card number. I then suppress a smile as they gravely and sagely nod approval that such things should be kept under tight security, knowing full well that I am saving them from themselves and the inevitable suicide what comes of witnessing images of my member. I’ve demonstrated a legit use and left them none the wiser…